It was a breezy April morning. The winds were blowing the cherry blossom petals right off the trees. In the arena, Pierce was making sure everything was in line. "Joe, have you seen Riki? He's supposed to be here for your match in ten minutes."
"J'étais juste sur le téléphone avec lui," said Joe. "Il ne vient pas, il ne se sent pas bien. Sa grand-mère insiste qu'il reste au lit." (I was just on the phone with him. He isn't coming, he's not feeling well. His grandmother insisted he stay in bed.)
"Damn," said Pierce. "What do we do now?"
"Pas de soucis," said Joe, "il nous envoie un remplacement." (No worries. He sent us a replacement.)
"He did?" Pierce was intrigued. "Who?"
Right after he asked, Natsumi came into the back room wearing the gaudiest workout uniform Pierce had ever seen. She looked like a glittery rainbow from the 80s had exploded next to her. Wait, Natsumi wasn't even born yet in the 80s! "Is she the replacement?"
"リキは私を彼の代わりに指輪に送った!" Natsumi grinned. (Riki sent me to the ring to take his place!)
Pierce blinked. "This is going to be a very interesting match," he said. "Alright, let's at least get your gloves fitted."
"ああ、アマール、お越しいただきありがとうございます." (Oh, Amar, thank you for visiting us.)
"यही दोस्त एक दूसरे के लिए करते हैं." (That's what friends do for each other.)
Piston Hondo blinked sleep from his eyes. Grandma and Great Tiger were standing over him. "अरे," said Great Tiger, kneeling down. "आप कैसा महसूस कर रहे हैं?" (Hey, how are you feeling?)
"良くないですが," mumbled Piston Hondo, pushing himself upright, "それは変装した祝福だと思います." (Not good…but I suppose it's a blessing in disguise.)
Great Tiger sighed. "आप अभी भी रिंग में वापस आने के लिए तैयार नहीं हैं, है ना?" (You're still not ready to get back in the ring, are you?)
When Piston Hondo shook his head, Great Tiger put an arm around him. "मुझे पता है कि आपकी पहली हार हमेशा सबसे कठिन होती है, लेकिन आप हार नहीं मान सकते." (I know your first defeat is always the hardest, but you can't just give up.)
Piston Hondo said nothing. He just averted eye contact.
"一緒に来て、私たちは試合を逃したくない," said Grandma. (Come on, we don't want to miss the match.) She shooed the two of them into the living room to watch the live, televised match.
"In this corner, we have the WVBA's trooper, our unrelenting jobber, Glass Joe! And in this corner, we have a newcomer with overflowing energy and speed to match, Crossbow Mountain! Fight!"
Joe was surprised to learn that Natsumi-er, Crossbow Mountain actually knew what she was doing in the ring. Of course, why wouldn't she? Her brother was a boxer! In fact, she had a few tricks that Piston Hondo didn't; she didn't give away all her attacks by twitching her eyebrows first.
Crossbow Mountain hopped left and right, but when she centered herself, she didn't start a flurry of jabs. Rather, she threw one jab, drew back with her other arm, and delivered an even stronger jab. She called it the Crossbow Crunch. But then, the name implied the crunching of bones, and she couldn't exactly hit hard enough to do that. Maybe she should change it to Crossbow Crush. No, that has the same problem. Perhaps Crossbow Crack? Oh no, she couldn't use that, that sounded like a drug.
Whatever the move was called, it knocked Joe down.
"One. …Two. …Three."
Joe pulled himself back up to continue the fight. Crossbow Mountain's bright outfit was hard to look at, and the glitter catching the ceiling lights' reflection was not helping matters. He practically had to squint to look at her.
Crossbow Mountain was loving this. Why didn't she think of taking up boxing? Who cares that she was fighting an old man, those crowds were screaming her name! That gave her confidence, and that confidence translated surprisingly well into strength. This time, she copied her big brother's signature move and started swinging. Unlike her big brother, though, her punches were random and not always coordinated. But honestly, does that really matter when you're fighting Glass Joe? Down he went again.
"One. …Two. …Three. …Four."
Still, Joe persisted. Crossbow Mountain hopped back and around to evade his punches, and eventually moved right under a light, which made all the glitter on her outfit light up. Joe winced and squeezed his eyes shut. While he was blinded, Crossbow Mountain gave him her signature move, which she finally decided to call the Crossbow's Target. Not alliterative, but much more meaningful. TKO.
When the boxers had gathered in the back, Natsumi was still in her workout clothes. "あれ見た?! 勝った! そして、それは私の最初の試みでした!" (Did you see that?! I won! And it was my first try!)
"Yeah, great job," muttered Mr. Sandman, annoyed by her loudness.
Once Natsumi had gathered her things and left, Super Macho Man turned to Mr. Sandman. "That is the ugliest outfit I've ever seen. They seriously let her in the ring like that?"
Joe breezed back the bigger guys and went to collect Katrina. "Loss number seventy?"
"Oui," mumbled Joe, looking sheepish. He was a little embarrassed that even his own daughter had it drilled into her head that he never wins.
Once Natsumi got off the bus, she was back home. Remembering her promise to be less rowdy, at least at home, she shut the door behind her quietly. In the living room, she found her brother falling asleep on Great Tiger's shoulder, while Grandma was up looking out the window.
"ああ、なつみ、あなたは素晴らしかったです!" (Oh, Natsumi, you were fantastic!) Grandma crowed when she turned around and saw her granddaughter. She rushed over and hugged her.
Natsumi grinned, then turned her attention to Piston Hondo. She nudged his arm until she saw his eyes open. "私が勝つのを見ましたか?" (Did you see me win?)
"うん..." (Yeah…) Natsumi saw something she rarely ever saw from her brother; a warm smile on his face. He sat up, and the two of them hugged as well.
"तुम्हें पता है, मैंने कसम खाई थी कि मैं महसूस कर सकता हूं कि उनका बुखार गायब हो गया जब उन्होंने घोषित किया कि टीकेओ," said Great Tiger, sitting up straighter. (You know, I swore I could feel his fever disappear when they declared that TKO.)
Natsumi looked up, and noticed Grandma standing in the doorway, about to go prepare lunch. "ハンバーグパテ?" (Hamburger patties?)
Those were Natsumi's favourite. She smiled. "はい、おばあちゃん." (Yes, Grandma.)
